COOL POINTERS; Hey, Sugar!

Sweet-toothed people are everywhere - I'm one of them, and I never really knew why until I realised that everything contains sugar so obviously our bodies naturally become sugar addicts whether we notice or not.  I mean, this probably isn't news to many of you, but at a recent university conventiony/pop-up stall thing I was shocked to find out how much sugar was really in some of our most beloved beverages!!!

Here are the sugar contents in some of our favourite drinks;

Whilst looking - bare in mind how many teaspoons of sugar, if any, you willingly have with your tea or coffee. 

Starbuck's bestseller the Frapuccino contains a whopping 16 teaspoons!! 

Flavoured water, 'the healthy option' has 7 teaspoons! Imagine 7 teaspoons in your damn tea!! 

Red Bull gives you wings..   and 8 teaspoons of sugar?

Good ol' tap water boasting an impressive 0 teaspoons of sugar.

If you're super concerned about the amount of sugar you're taking in you can use this little sugar intake barometer thingy to measure how much you're taking in daily.. if you're super concerned.

It's probably good to remember that sugar isn't all bad, after all it can be found in a high number of natural as well as unnatural goods but like anything.. too much of it will kill you instantly. 

Here are some quick links to some interesting articles:

           18 Foods and Drinks That Are Surprisingly High in Sugar - Authority Nutrition

How Much Sugar Is In Your Food And Drink? - MedicalNewsToday 

8 High-Sugar Foods You're Eating Every Day - everydayhealth.com

The Truth About Sugar - BBCGoodFood

Sugar Contents of Fruits - sugarstacks.com

For more information speak to your local health/fitness-freak or perform your own lil' google search?

Thanks for reading, bye!

COOL EVENTS; FLICKS FROM 420

As promised here are some snaps from the 420 celebrations in Hyde Park. Thousands of people turned out including grime MCs Big Narstie and Black the Ripper as well as plenty more familiar and friendly faces.

Hey.. It's the Chicken Shop Date girl 'Amelia Dimoldenberg' presenting for VICE it seems?

Big Narstie was greeted by hundreds and welcomed everyone with joke after joke. 

Artists like 'Bi0ch3mic' were out promoting their works by handing out free sweets, a definite winner with the dro-smoking enthusiasts - 90% of whom were sure to be suffering from a serious case of the munchies. Follow his Soundcloud and follow him at @bi0ch3mic on everything else.

Black The Ripper representing 'The Dank of England' was out all day selling his merchandise and taking photos with every fan, yes, every single person that asked him. He never put a zoot(joint) down.

Thousands of people made their way down to Hyde Park for the day.

There was the chance to get involved in some cool activities too from drumming to baton twirling to MCing on an open mic.

VICE News were one of a number of interesting/hip media outlets documenting the day's proceedings.

ARTICLES ON 420 

The Independent - '420: Thousands gather in London's Hyde Park to celebrate smoking weed'

Evening Standard - '420 day: 12 arrests as thousands gather for annual pro-cannabis demonstration in Hyde Park'

The Sun - 'HIGH-D PARKThousands of cannabis smokers ignore police demands and light up in London’s Hyde Park for ‘420 day’ in campaign to legalise the drug'

METRO - 'Thousands of weed smokers descend on Hyde Park for 4/20'

Thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend!

COOL EVENTS; It's 4/20!!!!

Urban Dictionary states;

"So far the majority of you are incorrect.. 420's origin IS known. 

The term 420 originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971, among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking wiseacres who called themselves the Waldos, who are now pushing 50. The term was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot. Intent on developing their own discreet language, they made 420 code for a time to get high, and its use spread among members of an entire generation. 

Here are some popular guesses at where the 4/20 term came from;

- There are NOT 420 chemicals in Weed. It's about 315, the num. goes up or down depending on what you're smoking. 

- 4/20 is NOT police code or Maryjane. 

- And that whole shit about Holland and 4/20 over there being "tea time" for smokers isn't true either."

4/20 celebrations in London rival celebrations in some of the world's best cities; Toronto,  Washington, Paris, Colorado, Amsterdam. 

The location as usual is London's beautiful Hyde Park and if the trains are actually running well, you should be able to grab the Victoria or Jubilee Line to Green Park or the Piccadilly Line to Hyde Park or Marble Arch. There are loads of ways of getting there yourself.. just use CityMapper.

WATCH OUT - Obviously the smoking of as well as being in possession of weed is ILLEGAL in the UK.. This is the only day of the year where police will turn a blind eye to big crowds smoking and possessing marijuana but you still have to have your wits about you! 

Two years ago, policemen and dogs manned part of the entrance to the park, you simply have to walk around them into the park and not through them (OBVIOUSLY!!!) to avoid being caught or apprehended (stopped). I went with a group of about ten people, three of which thought the police dogs were for show and walked straight through them. They were taken into vans stripped of their bud and sent to 'celebrate' with the wiser stoners - don't be one of those three.

As soon as 4:20pm celebrations are over, police disperse the crowd and people are sent on their way. My final OBVIOUSLY will be that once you leave Hyde Park police will probably resume their duties and start arresting people stinking of weed in different parts of London. Some stations may also be 'traps' for friendly smokers to walk into and by traps I mean there are likely to be more policemen and even some dogs at certain stations - avoid them.

4/20 Checklist

- 'a creative instrument' - phone, camera, sketchbook

- 4/20 essentials - bud, rizla, grinder, bud(dies)

- water, speakers, a picnic, anything really, just don't go empty handed, this day only comes round once a year and you don't want to get there and be thinking about all the things you're going to do next year! 

4/20 LINKS;

WIKI 420

Leafly - How To Have The Perfect 4/20

£4.20 Gourmet Burgers @ Meat Liquor (4pm-5pm)

Independent Article - '4/20 Hyde Park: Marijuana users descend on London park for annual smoke-in'

Day Events on 4/20

Enjoy the day! And look out for my picture-post in a day or two!

COOL MUSIC; Jeremih & Chance - Xmas Mixtape

So, I rarely blog on new music but Jeremih & Chance the Rapper have given me absolutely no choice.

On Wednesday night the rapper and r'n'b singer dropped a crazy Christmas mixtape to rival every other album release this year. Fans were given zero warning and woke up on Thursday to a welcomed, early Christmas present. The album features some awesome samples, including a funky spin on the Jackson 5's  hit 'I want you back', they've even collaborated with famous comedian Hannibal Buress, it's all mad.

 Each track is a perfect blend between Christmas and contemporary music and the way both artists compliment each other is sure to catch most listeners by surprise.

You'll find the tape on the right-hand toolbar, just there, it should actually start playing automatically.... ----------->

The end of 2016 has brought an abundance of impressive albums; Post Malone's Stoney, Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!", J Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only to name a few.

Check them all out - they're all on Spotify, but not before giving this festive treat a listen.

Have a great Christmas and New Year pretty people X

COOL EVENTS; DISTINKT SOUNDS - Don't be boring this Friday.

Right at the beginning of summer '16, I was lucky enough to be introduced to a group of awesome people. We met via a long-term pal of mine at Rinse FM's Born & Bred Festival (HIGHLY recommended urban music fest - check the link) and had such a swell time that we moved our boogieing across East London to a Hackney manor occupied by a few members of the group. 

At the party we got talking more, as you dooo.. It was then that I found out that most male members of the group were either underground or established DJs who were buzzing to announce the launch of their very own night, Distinkt Sounds - "London's most fire event since 1666".

Held at Bar 512 on Kingsland High Street, Dalston, the debut was popping and dancefloor packed from 10pm all through the night til 6am! Great vibes and a decent turn out made the event an success and it suddenly became a permanent fixture on the calendar of many. 

"Richard Ware

July 23 · 

Thank you so much for all the hard work, this was sincerely one of the best nights I can (patchily) remember. Cannot WAIT for the next one!"

I, personally, had so much fun that I couldn't resist an invitation to join the team of funky lads.. I now find myself heading up the social media (FOLLOW THE INSTAGRAM) as well as taking the majority of the photos with fellow photographer Dan Munro.

Vol.2 was just as enjoyable if not more. Pelikann was the headliner on the night and preceded fab sets from the super versatile line-up. 

Vol.3 is now a few days away and tickets are still available here. Try something new and get yourself down to Dalston for one of my favourite new London nights. If you have something else planned, especially if it's in the East London area, be sure to pop if after as doors close late.

The night is super cheap at only £5 online and before midnight OTD. That's a tiny amount to let go of in exchange for a guaranteed goood time.

Don't be boring this Friday - come and enjoy a good ol' affordable boogie..

COOL POINTERS; How To Watch Your Team. Any Time, Any Place.

For a number of years now I have had the privilege of never missing a game - and it's cost me SWEET FA!

I am fully aware of the fact that a lot of readers will already know of this little 'trick'. Nevertheless, I still get people who ask me "how?? how do you do it??" and I have passed on this special knowledge on to anyone who's requested it. However, now it is time for me to open the door for all to enter.

Nowadays you can do and find almost anything on the internet and if you didn't know this, now you do. I, personally, have lived in a household where the 'Sky Sports' package was never really considered a priority - this unfortunate upbringing forced me to seek a solution fast. I have since found many sites (some of which do not exist anymore) where I can enjoy a smooth uninterrupted service. Here they are:

1 - CricHD Tv (formally CricFree Tv) - http://www.crichd.co/live-streaming.php

This is my favourite site as it's reeally easy to use. PLUS, I can watch ANY sport. Here's a screenshot..

Here you can see the schedule for all sports matches throughout the day, it's so self-explanatory, just make sure the game you want to see is currently on and click 'watch'. The red 'watch' buttons and the aerials in the column labelled 'Live' are both indicators that the game you are watching is now on - ready for viewing.

You can also simply click the channel that you want the watch of the left-hand sidebar if you know where the game you want to watch is being aired.

(as you can see I was watching the Chelsea, United game here)

This page shows you what the footage is like, usually clear and uninterrupted but this does depend on your connection. Full screening is possible on any channel at any time.

MAKE SURE YOU CLOSE ALL ADS AND ANY WINDOWS THAT COME UP AS A RESULT OF YOU CLICKING 'X' ON AN AD (just to be on the safe side.)

2 - The next best site for you (in my opinion) is this one.. Premier League Live - http://premierleague-live.com/nextmatches/

This site looks like this..

.. and allows you to watch any game involving a premier league side. All you have to do on this site is scroll down to the game you want to watch and the games that are currently live are marked with a 'watch now!' button, games that aren't currently available will display a countdown til the match airs.

(You can also go to both sites for Champions League & Europa League fixtures)

Other sites include:

EPL Site - http://www.eplsite.com/

Stream Sports - http://www.streamsports.co/england/football/1/premier-league/1/

Live Streaming 24 - http://livestreaming24.net/premier-league/

Now hopefully you have enough info and good enough instructions to never have to beg a friend for their 'Sky' or 'BT Sport' login.

Enjoy!